Flickers #9: 35th Annual Telluride Film Fest: Passes Sold Out!

The Telluride Film Festival, reportedly one of the country's best (I've never attended), kicks off today. And all the passes are sold out, with the exception of the high-priced sponsor passes.

That's despite the fact that, as per usual, the program wasn't revealed in advance. Most festgoers didn't find out about the lineup until they arrived.

Last year's event, the 34th annual, featured a tribute to Daniel Day-Lewis. This year, David Fincher is getting the retrospective treatment, along with '50s star Jean Simmons and Swedish filmmaker Jan Troell. For a round-up on the lineup, check out the coverage in Telluride newspaper The Daily Planet. For a quick list of festival films, check out the Spoutblog, and for online conversation regarding the fest, including a discussion of guest fest director Slavoj Zizek, go here.

Film fans know that they'll likely get an advance look at movies destined to end up on year-end Top 10 lists and grab Oscar attention.

I'm looking forward to hearing St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall's thoughts on this year's program.

Last year, New York Times critic A.O. Scott had this to say about the fest: “If it seems to exist on a higher plane than Cannes, Toronto or Sundance, this is not just a matter of altitude. The elevation — more than 9,000 feet above sea level — can certainly make you dizzy, and the approach, especially in a car coming north from Durango through the rust-colored, spruce-covered mountains of the San Juan Mountains, is breathtaking.”